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Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Fortnite Cross-Play Beta Launched on PS4

Sony is finally bringing a beta cross-platform feature to PS4 today with free-to-play game Fortnite.

For long Sony had this weird arrogance of not allowing cross-platform play with Microsoft and Nintendo console owners. Even after being relentlessly ridiculed by gamers from all around the world about it, they had been maintaining their stubborn take on cross-play.

However, their policy has been reversed for good and today they announced of launching a Fortnite cross-platform beta. Now players owning a PlayStation 4 console can jump into adventure with fellow brethrens over Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox One.

Back in June, when a version of Fortnite Battle Royale was released for Switch, players quickly discovered that their Epic Games account linked with PlayStation are being restricted to use, which has disappointed many and created a huge controversy overnight.

Although Sony initially apologized and promised to work on a solution but as time went by, it became very clear that they are not going to do anything about it. It even led to fall in their stock price while they took heat on social media.

However, they have finally come forward to take a step toward the future for better by allowing a beta for cross-platform play with Epic Games' massively popular multiplayer title across Android, iOS, Mac, PC, Switch and Xbox One.

For a time being, they will be testing technical aspects and will allow this feature to more select third party content eventually. For the sake of providing a better gaming experience for everyone, Sony is making a change to their policy and we believe people will appreciate it.

On their official Blog, President and Global CEO of PlayStation, John Kodera have stated the following regarding their cross-play initiative.

We see the beta as an opportunity to conduct thorough testing that ensures cross-platform play is best on PlayStation, while being mindful about the user experience from both a technical and social perspective.

This may very well turn the tide of things and a huge turning point for the industry as they gave up their economic concerns. They were even scorned by publisher studio Bethesda for their backward perspective over things a few months back.

However, we must not lose sight that how they specifically mentioned about introducing the concept to more third party content soon but only to the ones "selected", which leaves more room for disappointment in the foreseeable future.